It was a short, awkward crawl before Grace’s headlamp picked out the stark white of snow piled up in the crevice beyond the cave entrance. It was still coming down.
Nick had to drag the pack the last few feet and crouched inside the entrance as Grace crawled up to kneel beside him. He pulled out the flashlight playing it around the opening and onto the rocky wall beyond.
“No footprints,” he said, examining the snow. “How wide is the crevice?”
“Maybe eight or ten feet, and about that deep.”
He moved around the opening, playing the flashlight beam as far as he could in the crevice beyond.
“What’s the terrain like up top?”
“A rocky outcropping—pretty flat—in a clearing surrounded by trees,” she said.
“Any cover? Any place for someone to hide?”
She nodded. “Too many.”
“Damn.” He pulle
